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Tuesday, October 11, 2016

On the Edge Film Festival brings the Call of the Wild to Cleveland Oct. 14-15

To the
uninitiated, a "mountain film festival" might sound like one of those
high-altitude annual showbiz markets held in Park City, Utah, or Telluride,
Colorado. Hollywood -or Cleveland - movie wannabes dressed in their
florescent-colored parkas, matching sunglasses and loads of cocaine, try to be
"discovered" by Hollywood talent scouts. Don’t forget to pack lip balm
and lots of staples to affix the handouts on your sucky-ass digital BLAIR WITCH
knockoff to every available phone pole, bill board, bystander or caribou who
don't get out of the way enough.

No, not quite.
Mountain Film Festivals, held at different venues around the world, are curious
oxymorons, celebrations of adventure-sports movies whose primary message is to
get up from your auditorium seat and OUT. Here is where real-life adventurers
bring the fruits of their passion for skiiing, rock climbing, cycling, kayaking,
BASE jumping, fishing, caving, snowboarding, dogsledding etc. No dealmaking
over some hot "Hulk" script cranked out.

The recently
inaugurated On the Edge festival bids to be Cleveland’s resident annual display
of mountain film. Abetted in no small way the advent of GoPro cameras, the two-day
event masterminded by Christina Russell of Brecksville is devoted to outdoor
adventure fare - usually but not always documentaries, submitted by gifted
amateurs and total pro athlete-filmmakers of all ages.

At the Breen
Center for the Performing Arts on the St. Ignatius campus, a special
hand-picked assortment of extreme-sports and adventure shorts and features
unreel (digitally, anyway) in two different feature-length lineups. Subjects
include a BASE jumper (who is afraid of heights), sled dogs, mountain bikers
going to extremes, a modern guy trying to revive the ancient art of
axe-throwing, and Bolivia’s “cholitas,” lady wrestlers who are a lesser-known
variant of Mexico’s notorious luchadoras.

Expect reps from
local hiking and ski clubs, and even a visiting filmmaker or film subject or
two. And Red Bull energy drink in the only venue where it really fits in.

Tickets are $25
each night. Admission includes a reception with refreshments, raffle prizes and
VIP guests. The shows start on Friday at 6 p.m. (with a one-hour opening
reception followed by film) and 7 p.m. on Saturday.